The day my world collapsed
by Mazz Ninja
Summary: Last Chapter! Thats it! i've finished this fanfic! WOOHOO!
1. Part 1

**A/N: Just something I wrote when I was bored. If you like it, do me a favour and review every chapter huh? Thanx!**

**Disclaimer: don't own s.e hinton's characters****L******

"Ponybaby, wake up. We gotta get some breakfast before church" 

Mom walked into the room and shook me until I opened my eyes.

"What's the time mom?" I groaned

"It's almost 9! Come on and get dress, you know how your daddy hates being late". I sprang up out of bed as mom pulled back the blinds to let the sun light come into the room. 

It was just another Sunday at our house. Dad was making his famous scrambled eggs and potato and instructing Darry on the best way to make chicken soup.

"So write that down D, onion in boiling water then put the chicken in. The secret ingredient is this herb you put in"

"What's it called?" Darry asked

"I don't know, ask your mother on that one. Just write 'the herb in the yellow container'" dad said without expression, causing Darry to almost fall off the stool laughing.

"What? What?" he was trying not to laugh too, "do you actually think I know what I put in my cooking? Why do you think it tastes so good? I just put whatever smells good"

"Dad, if I'd known that before I would never eat the stuff you cook! No wonder it never tastes the same twice!". Everyone always seemed so relaxed on Sunday morning. 

Darry didn't have to start work at the DX station till 12. He was trying to save every cent to get to college so he never came with us to church. Neither did Soda. 

After breakfast we got into the car and drove down to the church. Usually we would take Johnny with us but he didn't come over in the morning. Mom read my mind.

"Where's Johnny this morning?" she asked

"I don't know. He must've had a late night"

I knew that wasn't true because I was with him the night before. I didn't say anything though, mom worried about Johnny a lot, but I figured he'd be with Dally. 

 "Did Soda say where he was going today?" dad asked looking at me through the rear view mirror.

"I think he went out with Sandy or something" 

"Isn't it a little too early for that?"

_Dad, you have no idea_

Mom turned to look at me.

"I hope no girl has stolen your heart just yet"

I gave her a confused look

"Mom I'm 13!"

"That's right, you're still a baby"

I laughed at her. She was always so fussy with me. I figured she wanted me to stay a baby forever.

She turned to dad and said "are we still going out for dinner tomorrow night?". It was their 22nd anniversary. 

"Sure, honey. Anything you want" dad said brushing mom's hair out of her eyes. I watched as she smiled sweetly and took his hand into hers. I moved forward in my seat and put a hand on the back each of their seats. 

"So, how did you meet each other?"

Dad laughed happily. "We went to high school together"

"Did you? I didn't know that"

"You learn something new everyday, baby" mom said 

"When did you know that you were, you know, in love?"

"I knew the minute I laid eyes on her" dad said putting his hand on his heart.

"Come on dad, that's cliché"

"No! It aint nothing but the truth. She came into class late on the first day of school and when she walked in, I tell ya, I thought my heart had stopped"

"Honey, don't put ideas in his head!" mom said laughing. I could tell she was in ecstasy hearing dad talk about her like that. I realised then that I had never once seen or heard them fight or argue over anything.

"Don't worry about him" dad said winking at me in the rear view mirror, "Pony knows his own mind"

I sat back and thought about what they said. I wondered if I'd still be so in love when I'm that old.


	2. Part 2

**This was a bit rushed and well, not my best. But review it anyway!**

On the way home from church mom told me to ask Johnny over for dinner. 

"Sure" I said. I would've do that anyway, without her asking. He was always over on the weekend. When we got to the house, dad said "baby, we're going to that new store in town to get some groceries and things. We wont be long ok."

"Ok. Just get me some pepsi ok."

I walked in the house to find Dally and Two-Bit sitting on the floor, each with a beer in his hand and a cigarette in his mouth. Steve and Soda were stretched out on the couch. They all looked like zombies, staring at the TV, their faces expressionless.

"You guys seen Johnny?" I asked not really expecting an answer.

"na we aint seen him" Soda answered without looking away from the TV.

"Pony wheres your parents?" Dally asked. 

"They went to get some groceries" I said. There wasn't much action happening at home so I left.

I found Johnny in the lot just sitting there staring at the sky. When I got closer I realised that he was beaten. His left eye was swollen shut and his nose was bleeding. He didn't seem to notice I was there.

"Johnny?" I said after a while.

"Huh? Pony? How you doing, man" he said as though there was absolutely nothing wrong.

"What happened to you Johnny?"

"My old man. He didn't like the way I was sitting on the couch"

My heart jumped in my chest. How is it possible that a man could treat his kid like that?

"Hey my mom wants you over for dinner"

"I can't let her see me like this" Johnny said pointing to his face. He looked ashamed. I felt like crying for him.

"Come on Johnny, she'll be really upset with you if you don't come. Move it!" I said pulling him up off the ground.

We sat in the park for a while then walked back to the house. We took our time because I was explaining to Johnny what the sermon was about that day. By the time we got home it was already dark and when we walked it, everyone was in the exact same position as when I left.

"Mom and dad aint home yet?" I asked Soda.

"Nope. I don't know what's taking them so long. Where did you say they went?"

"To the new 'Food for less' shop in town."

"Well it shouldn't take this long right?"

Just then Darry walked in. 

"Hey ya'll" he said and plopped down onto the couch next to Steve. 

We sat there watching TV. All of us except Two-Bit and Dally who went roaming with Tim Shepard.

The hours dragged on for a long time then I realised that we'd all fallen asleep in front of the TV and that I dreamed that I was waiting. I got up and checked the time. It was 2am.

I went straight to mom and dad's room but there was no one there.

"Darry, Darry!" I said shaking him. He was still sitting on the couch next to Steve with his work clothes on. 

"What is it?"

"Mom and dad still aren't home. Its 2am!" he shot up into the air. "What? are you sure?"

Suddenly the whole house was up in confusion. Steve and Soda were both walking around trying to think of where they could be and Darry was telling them to calm down. Johnny just sat there without saying a word.

_Maybe they got lost. Maybe they ran out of gas. Maybe…_

It didn't occur to me that anything really bad could've happened to them. Until the phone rang. 


	3. Part 3

We all made a dive for the phone. Darry got it first. He was closest. He picked up the receiver and put up his hand, gesturing for us to stop. We all stood around him like vultures, waiting impatiently for the next move. 

"Yes, this is his son" he said. He was so claim I was sure there could be nothing wrong.

"How serious?" he said after listening carefully and I felt a thrust in my heart, then "thank you very much. Goodbye" and he hung up. 

"That was the police," he said slowly. No one said a word but we were all breathing heavily. 

Finally Soda said, "Well, what happened Darry?"

"They were in a car accident. They're in hospital" he looked at me and Soda and put a hand on our shoulders, "We're going to the hospital but I want you guys to stay strong ok"

I nodded, I was still in shock. I knew then it had to be bad. Darry would've told us if it wasn't anything too serious. His calmness was what was scary me the most.

I felt Soda take my hand and we walked out to the car. Steve and Johnny came with us.

We got to the hospital in silence. Soda was shaking. He didn't let go of my hand since we left the house. He looked so scared, I wanted to comfort him but I couldn't open my mouth, I had to hold back the tears and be strong.

Darry did all the talking. He told the nurse who we were and she said she'd let the doctor know we arrived. We went up and waited in the waiting room outside the ER

The wait was torture. I kept looking at Darry for a sign of hope but he was in another world. Soda was quietly crying in the corner. Steve was talking to him, telling him everything was going to be alright. Johnny had fallen asleep on the floor. 

"Darry what did the police say on the phone?" Soda asked him. 

"They said they were in a head-on collation. They're in serious condition. Both of them." He went quiet again, twiddling his thumbs while me and Soda took in what he just told us. 

After a while the doctor came in to give us an update. He told us that dad was in surgery. He'd fractured his skull in two places and his lungs were filled with fluid. Both his legs were broken. Mom's back was broken and she was in a coma. Her right leg was broken too and so was her hip. Her heart had stopped but they were doing all they can to revive her. There was less than 10% chance of survival…

My head was spinning. I felt like I was outside myself. Like it wasn't me in the room. It was some other poor boy whose parents were going to die on the morning of their wedding anniversary.

After what felt like forever, the doctor came in the room again and sat with us. 

"I'm sorry boys, there's nothing more we can do" he said sadly. He had tears in his eyes and his lips were quivering but it didn't matter. He could go back to his life tomorrow. Ours will be changed forever. 

Wow man. That was hard to write. I wanted to make it sadder but I couldn't. oh well. Hope u guys liked that! Now review!!!


	4. Part 4

Soda was crying so hard that the doctor had to give him something to make him pass out. I was in shock. Darry was the only one keeping it together. We came home for hospital the next day around dawn. It felt like a lifetime had passed since we were last in the house. The house itself felt different, like it didn't belong to us. Darry carried Soda in and I followed behind. I sat on the couch and turned the TV on while Darry took Soda to his bed. 

"Ponyboy, go to bed" Darry said to me as he came out of the room. 

"No" I realised I'd been sitting on the couch staring at the TV for a while. My eyes hurt, my head was spinning and I was tired but I didn't want to go to sleep. The truth was, I was scared, I didn't know exactly of what.

Darry gentle pulled me up off the couch and led me to my bed. I laid down and he sat next to me. 

"It's going to be ok, Pony. We're going to get through this. Together" he said stroking my hair. He was still calm and collected. He hadn't shed a tear but his eyes were so sad. He'd lost that sparkle in them. I knew his heart had been broken. He would probably suffer more than any of us. 

I started to say something but before I knew it, I was asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Ponyboy fell asleep, Darry walked around the house a few times. He didn't know what to do with himself. He wanted to cry and scream how unfair all this was. He realised that he would have to do everything he could to keep whats left of his family together. He felt he was being weighed down by 100 tons of bricks and it hurt. But one thought kept going through his head

_I'm never going to see them again I'm never going to see them again __I'm never…_

He found himself outside his parents' bedroom door. An hour passed before he finally had the courage to open the door. He walked in and locked the door behind him. The bed was made. Everything was neat and tidy as always.

Mom you never could stand mess 

He walked over and sat on the bed, looking around the room. 

_They'll never sleep in this bed again._

It suddenly hit him, like a thunderbolt, the reality of the situation. He could never speak to his father again, never taste his cooking, never play football with him, never tell him how much he loved him, never…

He frantically searched his brain, trying to remember what was the last thing his father said to him.

"I'll see you after church" that's what he said. He was happy, he was smiling, he was pleased with me…   

Darry laid back on the bed, smelling his mother's perfume on her pillow and, unable to keep it in any longer, began to cry softly.

_Not too loud,_ he thought

He didn't want his brothers to hear him. He had to be strong for them. They had to survive no matter what. 

_I wont go to college_, he thought, _I wont go to college and work full-time to support them. We'll be alright. We can do this. We can survive._

"Who are you kidding?" he said to himself out loud. Fatigue finally overcame him and he fell asleep. 

I hope that was depressing enough. I'm taking a break for about 2 weeks coz I have exams okies! Bye! Dnt forget to review!!


	5. Part 5

**Thank y'all so much for wishing me luck for my exams. It'll take more than luck to make me pass, I haven't studied a thing, I just cant be bothered! It's soo hot over here, I cant concentrate. I've still got 2 more exams and an essay, I'll start studying after this…**

We didn't expect so many people at the funeral. People we had never seen in our entire lives were there. Some came and told us that they grew up with mum or played football with dad. They were all sympathetic and even gave us their numbers so we can call them if we ever needed anything.

_We don't need your sympathy_

They were all just faces to me. I wouldn't recognise any of them if I saw them down the street or in the shopping centre. They were just a blur.

The most important thing to me was that the gang was there. Even Tim Shepard made an appearance. He walked over to Darry and gently punched him on the shoulder then left. Only Dally was missing. He'd gotten himself back in the cooler by then but he wrote us a letter that just said "I'm going to miss them". He didn't even sign it but we knew his writing. 

I tried hard not to cry at the funeral while the eulogy was being read, but I couldn't help it. Once I saw Soda start, there was no way I could keep it in. Darry didn't shed a tear. He just stood there dumbfounded. He looked so helpless.

When we got home, Soda was still crying. He cried so much I thought he was going to go blind. He went straight to bed and slept. He even cried in his sleep. I tried to calm him down the best way I could but there was no use. People came over all day to show their respects. Some of my mother's friends even made food for us so we'd have something to eat but none of us had an appetite. Two-Bit and Johnny wanted to stay over but Darry told them not to. I wasn't in the mood for company anyway so I was grateful that he did. 

When everyone left, Darry and I cleaned the house from top to bottom. It didn't really need it but we had to occupy our minds with something. It was so hard not to think. After we'd finished, Darry sat me down on the couch to talk to me.

"Pony, you know things like this happen everyday to people" he paused, "its just the way things are"

"I know, but it's not fair" my voice cracked when I said that. I didn't realise how emotional I was. Darry took me into his arms and started rocking me back and forth.  "Pony, I've had time to think. I'm not going to college. I'm going to get another job so we can live together"

I looked up. "You're not going to college?" I was too dazed to think about what that really meant for him but he went on anyway, "you know those men that were talking to me today? The ones in suits? They're from the state. They want to put you and Sodapop in a boys' home"

"No, Darry, don't let them" I said drowsily. I was beginning to fall asleep listening to his heart beat. 

"I've worked out a deal with them. They said we can stay together as long as you two stay out of trouble." He sighed, "Promise me you'll stay out of trouble?"

"I promise" I said but I must've fallen asleep because Darry carried me back to my bed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Darry spend the night looking through his parent's things. He knew he wasn't fully up to it but he had to start some time. He couldn't sleep anyway.

Suddenly he heard a scream coming from Soda and Pony's room. He ran to the kitchen to get a knife then to the room as fast as possible. He thought an intruder had broken in and was trying to kill them but when he got there he found Soda up next to Ponyboy trying to calm him down. 

"What happened?"

"He's having a nightmare. Help me wake him up" Soda said shaking.

They shook him and called his name but he didn't stop screaming. Finally Soda got a glass of water and splashed it in Pony's face. Pony shot up in the air and looked around. 

"Pony, are you ok?" Soda asked reaching for his brother but Pony pulled away.

"I think so. Maybe" Pony said. But he was shaking so much that the bed was making squeaking noises. 

They just sat there together on Pony's bed without saying a word. It was a long night but none of them could sleep. 

Surviving was going to be harder than they thought. 

  
  
  


**Wow that was crap but review anyway ok! Now I gotta go study!! :(…. **


	6. Part 6

Darry's POV

A month had passed since the funeral. A whole month. It seemed like ten years. Everything seemed to be going wrong. I wasn't ready for all of this. 

_Accept, just accept, this is the card you've been dealt, take it and shut up_

I couldn't help thinking where I'd be now if none of this ever happened.

_Stop it_

I was cleaning out the garage to put all my parents' belongings in there. There was so much junk in there, old newspapers and rusted tools. I was throwing most of it in the rubbish, when I heard an AHEM behind me.

"Hey Darry"

"Hey Jill" I said turning to face her, "sorry, I didn't see you". She was the last person I expected to see.

We stood in silence for a minute

"So how are you?" she said eagerly. She looked like she hadn't slept for a while. I hoped I hadn't been the reason for it.

"Fine" I said.

Silence again. 

I began to wish she would go. I didn't feel like having company. That's why I insisted on cleaning the garage on my own when Pony and Soda offered to help out. It gave me time to think things through.

"You haven't returned any of my calls" she said, "If I didn't know any better, I could've sworn you were avoiding me"

Maybe I was avoiding her. I couldn't tell for sure

"Don't be ridiculous" I said with a nervous laugh. I wondered if she could see through me.

I looked at her hands. They were shaking.

_She's still wearing the ring_

"I'm sorry about your parents" she said sadly, "I wanted to go to the funeral but I couldn't, I just couldn't". Her lips began to quiver.

"It's ok" I said. I didn't need this right now. Yes she had met my mom once. At our graduation but that was when we first started going together. Mom didn't know who she was. We told everybody we were just friends.

"Darry, would you like to go for a walk with me?" she said as though she was picking her words carefully.

"I can't" I said with a shrug, "I've got to take Ponyboy to the doctor"

"What's wrong with him?" she said with concern

"Nothing. He's just not feeling so good" I wasn't about to tell her that since the funeral, Ponyboy had been having nightmares every night. It was so strange. He couldn't remember what he was dreaming about. Soda began sleeping with him. It stopped occurring so often but I decided to take him to the doctor to see what's wrong with him.

Jill nodded and said "ok. Call me" she backed away to the entrance of the garage, "when your free" she added, then ran down the road. 

I didn't feel guilty or sad. I feel nothing. It was the strangest thing in the world. I once thought I was in love with Jill. Only dad knew about that. But he didn't know about our engagement. I was going to tell him that day after he got back from Church but…

"Darry, are you ready?" Soda said poking his head through the garage entrance. 

"Yeah, I am. Lets go" I hoped in the driver's seat of the truck and waited for Ponyboy and Soda to lock up and get in the car.

It hit me then. There was so much responsibilities that came with being a parent and having a family. Mom and dad never companied about it all and I never realised what they did for us. They sacrificed everything for us and now it was my turn to sacrifice for my brothers. There was no way I would be able to go to college now. And there was no way I could marry Jill either. I had to break it off soon but I didn't want to face it. 

She was just another sacrifice I had to make to survive. 


	7. END

I picked up the phone with a trembling hand and dialled Jill's number. There was no other way I could do this. I couldn't write her a letter and I didn't want to talk face to face. 

_Thank God for telephones_

"Hey, Jill? It's Darry"

"Hey Darry" she sounded so surprised, "I didn't think you'd call me" she said sadly.

_I have no choice_

"I wanted to tell you something important" I said quickly. The best way to do it was to get straight to the point.

"What is it?"

"I can't, well the thing is, its just not going to work out… between us"

"Are you breaking up with me?"

"Yes"

"Well I can't say I didn't see it coming", she said bitterly, "if that's what you want, so be it. I'll bring the ring by your house next time I pass"

"No, its ok. You can keep it" I hesitated for a minute, "you know, its not you. I just have bigger priorities now. My brothers, they need me". 

"bigger priorities? Is that how little I meant to you? Don't you think I need you too?"

"You don't need me. It wouldn't have worked out anyway. Your parents wouldn't have agreed". Her parents were as rich as they come and would've wanted her to marry a guy from a family like theirs.

"Don't give me that" she snapped, "my parents would've wanted me to be happy. It doesn't matter who with, as long as I was happy. But it doesn't matter anymore. It's been nice knowing you" she shut the phone in my ear just as Ponyboy and Soda walked in with the rest of the gang following behind them. 

_More days like this to come_, I thought.

**Months later**

Ponyboy's POV

When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house….

**THE END**

**Well that's it! I know that was really stupid but I wanted to finish this soooo badly. I'm not writing anymore chapter fic! Hehehe. Thanks to all you who read it (I know the ending wasn't all that ). If I ever write again, it'll be one chapter stuff. I want to start reading all the outsiders fics because there are heaps of good ones and I know I'm missing out. Anyway thanks again BYE!**


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